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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26102803">Hear Me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/doridoripawaa/pseuds/doridoripawaa'>doridoripawaa</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Edeleth, F/F, Prayer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:48:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,999</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26102803</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/doridoripawaa/pseuds/doridoripawaa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Black Eagle Strike Force is preparing for its march on Fhirdiad, and Byleth is almost ready... except for the fact that she keeps having strange dreams! With nobody else to turn to, she decides to consult an old friend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hear Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Confusion" was not on the schedule, but that fact had not stopped it from showing up uninvited. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Byleth fluttered her eyelids open, rather than expressing gratitude or excitement at the prospect of a new day, she groaned and rolled over to bury her face in her pillow. For the third time that week, bizarre dreams had plagued her night hours, and now for the third time that week, her waking hours would be occupied by her worries that sprung from such dreams.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dreams of death. Dreams of falling. Dreams of fire. Dreams of blood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oddly enough, she was never the victim to these tragedies. When a scream rang out and a body hit the ground, it wasn't her own. She had borne witness to many screams of all tones, volumes, and voices throughout her time as a mercenary and during the course of this war, but she had only heard one other person scream in a manner that she would recognize. One person whose scream could cause her to feel so hopeless and miserable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'Edelgard,' </span>
  </em>
  <span>a voice seemed to whisper on the wind, or perhaps from the depths of her brain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth sighed and flung her blanket off of her body. She yawned and stretched her arms up to the ceiling, nearly smacking its low stone surface in the process. Why were dreams all centered around Edelgard? Of course Edelgard was important to her: she was her pupil, her emperor, her friend, her ally, her path to the future. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What future, exactly? If "ignorance is bliss," then why was Byleth's lack of knowledge making her head spin and filling her mind with worry?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn't have time to be confused. Today, the Black Eagle Strike Force was set to march on Fhirdiad and take back Fodlan once and for all. Letting these thoughts and concerns occupy her mind would distract her on the battlefield. If that happened, then… her nightmares could very easily become a reality.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What about the dream where she stood holding Edelgard's hand, with a defeated Rhea kneeling at their feet? How did </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>dream fit in? Byleth had not had such cryptic dreams for so long that she had almost forgotten how to handle herself when she felt unsettled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Actually, had she ever felt unsettled about anything before starting to teach at Garreg Mach? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before meeting Edelgard?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth shook her head of minty green locks and sighed. Too many questions and not enough answers. As she stumbled around her room and began to get dressed, she wondered how much time she had before Edelgard would rally her troops together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe she had enough time for some… soul searching.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stars still twinkled overhead, but purples and pinks were creeping upward to swallow their faint light. The sun was slowly beginning to peek its way out from over the horizon. The edge of dawn was upon them, and so Byleth knew that her time was running short. She would have to make this visit a quick one. She picked up her pace and tiptoed faster across the grass, careful not to disturb any of her sleeping teammates as she trekked across the monastery grounds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally she reached her destination, and she took a couple of deep, steadying breaths upon arrival. The stars were getting fainter, and the sky was becoming more orange. The mix of colors was breathtakingly beautiful, but Byleth needed to conserve every breath that she could take right now. She shuffled forward to bask in the shadow of the building before her, taking a brief respite from the growing heat of the day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The mercenary tilted her head back to take in the full view of the structure, and a shudder ran down her spine as she gazed in awe from the peak to the base. Ivy crept up the stone walls, which were crumbling in some spots and speckled with mold in others. Back in her days at the academy, Cyril would clean these stones until they were spick, span, and sparkling; he had chosen to side with Rhea though, of course, and most of the Strike Force found this section of the monastery to be... intimidating. Even as they prepared to rally to take down the church, they still held a certain reverence for this building, and they seemingly had solemnly agreed to leave it alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth was also deeply respectful of the stone tower before her, but for other reasons. Even more than the cathedral, Byleth found that the Goddess Tower was where she felt closest to the most important people in her life: Edelgard, who she had met here on the night of the ball over five years ago, and…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sothis,” she murmured, and her emerald eyes gleaned wistfully. “Can you hear me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>WInd whistled between some of the gaps and weathered holes in the stone, but that familiar high-pitched, proud, powerful, occasionally nagging, voice remained silent. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I expected as much,’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>Byleth thought, and she felt her shoulders sag and her mouth set into a frown. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘She sacrificed herself to save me five years ago. I haven’t heard her since that day.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The goddess’s voice no longer resounded within her mind. The goddess could no longer scold her, praise her, laugh with her, cry for her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Your will and mine are now as one.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Parting words sprung up from the depths of her memory, where they had lied dormant for so many years. Important, precious words that filled Byleth with renewed vigor and determination.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even if she could no longer hear the goddess’s voice, Byleth was certain that she was still watching her, supporting her, and listening to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe talking to a wall wasn’t how she envisioned this morning to go, but this was the best solution that she had to put her heart at ease. She may not have known what a beating heart felt like, and she would never know, but she liked to think that the thumping inside her head and the anxiety spreading throughout her body must have resembled it somewhat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sothis,” Byleth repeated in a low voice, and she clasped her hands together. “I hope you can hear me, because I have a lot to say, and I thought… you always knew how to tell me when I was being foolish, so here I am, because I’ve never been so confused in my life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Do you remember when we came across a gut-wrenching scream in the middle of the night, all those years ago?" The corners of her lips twitched upward. "You insisted that it couldn't be a ghost, even though I was thoroughly convinced." She sighed and shook her head. "No, quite the opposite. Instead of an ephemeral, hollow ghost, we saw a vivid, lively, and fiery young woman. </span>
  <em>
    <span>El.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" The name tasted like black cherries on her lips: sweet but packing a powerful tart punch that would catch you off guard if you weren't prepared. And with Edelgard, nobody was ever prepared. She was always four steps ahead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a soft grunt, Byleth lowered herself onto the ground, carefully casting her cloak behind it so as not to sully it in the dirt. She planted her hands behind her on either side, and she inhaled deeply, allowing the scents of grass and dew to flood her being. Every now and then, she missed the freedom of being a mercenary; she and Jeralt were constantly traveling and fighting, but at least they were able to spend almost every night gazing solemnly at the stars. Jeralt always used to tell her that their fallen comrades became stars upon their death, and that they watched over Fodlan for eternity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was Jeralt one of those stars?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The grass was cool and refreshing under her fingers, and Byleth was almost tempted to dig her nails into the soil and relish in the fresh earth. Hubert would definitely scold her for that, though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Right now, my life feels simple." Byleth leaned back to take in the full view of the Goddess Tower once again. "I like simple."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When images of bloodshed and bones, sorcery and steel, tears and triumphs filled her head, both from her actual past and from her alarmingly realistic dreams, flooded her mind, she knew her life at this moment was anything but simple.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I never want to see Edelgard cry out like that again," Byleth went on. She reached up to scratch her head of messy light green hair thoughtfully. "When she told me about her past, I thought my heart would break, and my heart doesn't even beat. How could a broken heart break again?" Rapping her fingers against the packed earth, Byleth continued to pour out the contents of her still heart. "I want to protect her, but I know she doesn't need protecting. I want to dote on her, but she's too busy to take time for herself. I want to tell her everything will be okay…" Byleth trailed off and slowly closed her eyelids. The image of a rain-soaked, blood-stained, moppy-haired blond man immediately filled her vision. "But I can't promise that."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Years ago, somebody had probably told Dimitri that everything would turn out okay, too. That promise hadn't exactly aged well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On that day, was it raindrops or teardrops that stained Edelgard's cheeks?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Most of all… why do I only dream of her? I care about the entire Strike Force." Byleth's voice cracked. Would the rest of the Black Eagles feel as though she didn't value them too, if they knew of her dreams? The former mercenary finally succumbed to her exhaustion and frustration, and she flopped down onto her back. If Ferdinand wanted to chide her for dirtying her attire, so be it. "I'm a failure as a professor."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she had visions of Sothis, at least Sothis would talk to her. The Edelgard in her dreams didn't seem to notice she was there, or at least didn't find it prudent to waste time on idle chitchat. "I just want to know, Sothis. Why… am I so confused?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She finally opened her eyes once again, and from her position flat on the ground, Byleth could take in the entire sky above her. Only one or two stars remained as the sun edged ever farther away from the horizon and towards the heavens. Byleth squinted at the cerulean star that seemed to twinkle brighter than the others. The Blue Sea Star? Was Sothis watching her after all?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Although pinks, oranges, and yellows were taking up the majority of the sky at this point, directly overhead, the celestial canvas was mostly lilac and lavender. The beautiful shades of purple would be swallowed up soon, but Byleth decided to rest for a couple more moments before she would meet up with the Strike Force.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A soft chime resounded in her ears, and the professor immediately perked up. She hoisted herself to a sitting position as the gentle ringing continued to resound throughout the monastery grounds. The ringing signaled the time for troops to rally. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ring," Byleth murmured, and her eyes grew wide. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That </span>
  </em>
  <span>was why the color of the sky had looked so familiar. It was the same color as the jewel in Jeralt's ring-- the ring he had left to her. Why did he give it to her again? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To give to someone she cares about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why was the Emperor the first person to appear in her mind? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"After we defeat Rhea," Byleth breathed, "I want to give El that ring."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe she didn't understand her feelings yet, but somehow, giving Edelgard that ring seemed to capture them perfectly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth finally jumped onto her feet and brushed off the traces of dirt, weeds, and dewdrops that had crept onto her cloak. She took off at a brisk jog, knowing her time was running out as the sun finally burst forth and the chiming came to a conclusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Overhead, before the light of day completely drowned it out, the Blue Sea Star flashed and flickered, as though laughing with delight.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for the commission, Katie! I love you &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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